"Mana-Manipulation," I yelled, pointing my index finger towards the Chimera and shooting a beam at its chest.

"RAAAH," a thunderous scream roared as the beam barely left a mark.

"Wow, that thing is sturdy," I said to myself. "Let's try this then," I began to sprint towards the beast, holding my right hand above my head and circulating mana, while gripping my sword in my other hand. "Mana-Manipulation," I yelled once more, forming mana into a pointed spear and throwing it like a javelin. I then sprinted behind it, gathering mana into my sword. "Hah!" I screamed as I slashed towards the monster's neck. The monster focused on the spear heading towards its head, blocking it with two of its muscular arms. From its back, a tail that looked like it had the head of a snake wrapped around and bit onto my sword, holding it in place. "Shit," I said as I kicked off the monster's belly and pulled back. "This chimera's body is slow, but sturdy, and its tail is very fast," I thought. "I need to pierce its skin somehow and work from there."

I once again gathered mana into my sword. This time I would try a long-range attack using my sword. I formed a razor-sharp edge with mana, then I pooled as much mana as I could behind it. "Mana-Manipulation!" I screamed once again and thrust my sword forward. What came afterward was a beam that struck as fast as lightning and was as sharp as a spear. I put all of my focus into the attack that was aimed at the monster's chest. After the dust settled, I could see blood dripping from the monster's chest and a small hole. "It worked!" I said as I began to rush forward, then all of a sudden the monster's wound rapidly healed. While I noticed this, I was already mid-attack. The monster swung its arm, tossing me violently into the wall of the corridor we were in. "Ah, this is a lot harder than I thought," I said as I pushed myself off the floor.

"It's hard, but not impossible. I'll kill you here," I said as I pointed my sword toward the monster. "Infinite Burn," I said calmly, "Mana-Manipulation," I said in succession. Once again, a beam shot out as fast as lightning, but this time it was covered in flames. The beam once again pierced the monster's skin, leaving a small hole in its chest. To the monster's surprise, it wasn't regenerating and was rapidly losing health. At the same time, I was struggling after multiple abilities that cost a large portion of mana, as well as my rapidly depleting mana from Infinite Burn. It was a race against time. "I gotta go all out," I said to myself. I began sprinting towards the chimera that was writhing in pain from flames dancing around its chest. "One more time!" I yelled as I slashed towards the monster's neck. "Hah!" I slashed the monster's neck, then shoved my sword deep into the wound. Using all my strength, I attempted to decapitate it. The monster used its muscular arms to grab me as it writhed in pain. Then, it grew two more smaller arms to tighten its grip. So far, I was only able to slash through half of its neck.

I gathered mana into both of my legs, then kicked both legs into the open wound on the monster's chest, causing its grip to loosen on me. Using this momentum, I once again jumped and slashed at its neck, which was regenerating. My sword got caught once again in its neck. I willed the rest of my mana into my sword, causing Infinite Burn to stop. Thankfully, the damage done was so severe the monster still couldn't regenerate. Using the rest of my mana and strength, I pushed my sword, finally removing the grotesque head from its body. The body collapsed on the ground, and what was left was its tail frantically flailing, trying to attack me. Due to the fact that my mana was nearly depleted and I was fatigued, I decided to momentarily retreat. The snake-like tail of the monster couldn't separate from the chimera, and as the main body bled out, the snake eventually died as well.

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

"Whew, finally," I said aloud as I plopped down on my back. "If that had gone any longer, I would be completely out of mana. I really need to find some better skills." As I was thinking that, I saw lights at the end of the corridor begin to flicker on, leading to a brightly lit room. I slowly picked myself up and walked to the room, scouting it for any more monsters. "It looks like I'm clear here. Let's see if I can rest here for a bit," I said. Looking around the room, I saw what looked like scientific equipment. Beakers with fluids, capsules with parts of monsters, and electronic equipment were scattered everywhere. There was also a small golden chest in the corner of the room. "Another trap?" I thought to myself. "I'll open it after I rest for a bit." I decided to sit down and meditate, then ate and drank some rations I brought with me. I then checked my System to see any changes.

[Vernon]

Rank - B

Level: 18

Strength - 45

Intellect - 25

Luck - 25

Dexterity - 50

Attribute - Light, Fire.

EXP To next level 10000/40000

"Wow, I didn't even get close to leveling up from that," I thought while looking at my System. Little did I know that my growth up to this point was outrageous. Had I not absorbed essence from Baal, it would take me half a year or more to get to where I am now. Thankfully, luck is on my side, and I would be hitting my goal of level twenty much sooner than I thought.

As I finished looking at my System, I decided I was in good enough shape to continue. I took another look around the room, pressing on the walls, lighting things up, or turning things on to see if anything changed. Unfortunately, no passages opened, so my only choice was to open the chest and see what happened. Prior to doing so, I decided to gather mana to my sword, which was held in my right hand at the moment. I opened the chest and to my surprise, nothing jumped out at me. All that was inside was a journal of some sort and a small dagger-like blade. I picked up the book, looking through it briefly, then placed it in my pack. I then picked up the blade and instantly felt a sharp pain on my hand. I looked at my hand and saw a small prick on my thumb and blood lightly dripping from it. I then looked at the dagger and saw the small crystal embedded in it glowing red. After a while, the blade stopped glowing and nothing else happened. The blade itself was dull and slightly rusted, and when I tried to use mana on it, nothing happened. I decided to leave it behind as it seemed worthless. At this point, there was nothing else of use in the room, and I realized I would have to go back to the beginning and enter the other room.

I lightly jogged back to the entrance where I first saw the two different colored doors. Once I arrived, I turned around to prepare to enter the other door, only to realize that both doors were gone, and what was left was a single red door. The door gave off a very ominous feeling, and I wasn't sure what to expect. Either way, I was rested enough, so I took the plunge.

"Ah, so a new guest has arrived. Thank you for the data you gave me on my little pet. I'll put it to good use," said a voice coming from the other end. "Now then, let's begin."